a random sampling of stuff

sewing

June 14, 2009

Now that I have my muse, I have been digging into my fabric stash and doing some sewing.For my first project I used this Butterick pattern. I loved the retro look of this 1947 style. I bought the cheery floral seersucker fabric ages ago at a local shop that has a huge mount of dead stock vintage fabrics. I felt like a kid in a candy store when I first discovered that shop!

The nature of the seersucker made it a bit challenging to work with especially matching the stripes in the fabric. I am pretty pleased with how it all turned out.

And now that the warm summer weather is finally here.....I can wear my lovely new sun dress!

June 01, 2009

Everyone seems to get their creative boosts in different ways. For some it is seeing the brightness and explosion of colour in a blooming spring garden. For others it is found in a pile of fresh produce in a local farmer's market. Or maybe in a packed-to-the-rafters fabric store.

I've been looking for my inspiration for a while now as I feel like I've been in a bit of a creative rut. I looked for it in all of the places that I listed above but couldn't seem to see it.

And then I looked at this. I bought this adjustable dress form at a church sale about 15 years ago. I've hung on to it even though it never had a stand and I found using it frustrating to use because I would have to sit it on a table or chair to get an idea of how a garment would look on it. To be honest, I had it shoved in the back of a cupboard for the longest time.

Then I got an idea after seeing a video on Threadbanger about making a tape dress form. I found a Christmas tree stand on Craigslist and bought a length of pipe at the local hardware store and my sweet Contraband rigged it all together with a few scraps of lumber to stablize it.

And voila! I now have a dress stand, or a judy as I am more prone to call it.

And make no mistake about it. I have found my inspiration in my judy. I have been sewing up some new frocks for me, a few items that came my way on contract and looking at refurbishing/repurposing some old chestnuts from my closet.I'll post the latest creations in the next few days.